Electrospinning of recycled PET to generate tough mesomorphic fibre membranes for smoke filtration

• Tough fibrous membranes for smoke filtration have been developed from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by solution electrospinning. The fibre thicknesses were controlled from 0.4 to 4.3 mu m by adjustment of the spinning conditions. The highest fibre strength and toughness were obtained for fibres with an average diameter of 1.0 mu m, 62.5 MPa and 65.8 MJ m(-3), respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the fibres showed a skewed amorphous halo, whereas the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results revealed an apparent crystallinity of 6-8% for the 0.4 and 1 mu m fibres and 0.2% crystallinity for the 4.3 mu m fibres. Heat shrinkage experiments were conducted by exposing the fibres to a temperature above their glass transition temperature (T-g). The test revealed a remarkable capability of the thinnest fibres to shrink by 50%, which was in contrast to the 4.3 mu m fibres, which displayed only 4% shrinkage. These thinner fibres aka showed a significantly higher glass transition temperature (+15 degrees C) than that of the 4.3 mu m fibres. The results suggested an internal morphology with a high degree of molecular orientation in the amorphous segments along the thinner fibres, consistent with a constrained mesomorphic phase formed during their rapid solidification in the electric field. Air filtration was demonstrated with cigarette smoke as a model substance passed through the fibre mats. The 0.4 mu m fibres showed the most effective smoke filtration and a capacity to absorb 43x its own weight in smoke residuals. whereas the 1 mu m fibres showed the best combination of filtration capacity (32x) and mechanical robustness. The use of recycled PET in the form of nanofibres is a novel way of turning waste into higher-value products.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Materialkemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Materials Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Differential scanning calorimetry

Electric fields

Electrospinning

Fibrous membranes

Filtration

Glass

Glass transition

Microfiltration

Molecular orientation

Plastic bottles

Polyethylenes

Rapid solidification

Recycling

Shrinkage

Smoke

Spinning (fibers)

Temperature

X ray diffraction

Average diameter

Cigarette smokes

Filtration capacity

Internal morphology

Mechanical robustness

Mesomorphic phase

Recycled polyethylene terephthalates

Spinning conditions

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